M&S to close 11 stores in France, blaming Brexit
British retailer Marks & Spencer is to close all 11 franchise food stores it runs with partner SFH in France.
It says new trade rules since Britain left the European Union have hammered product availability.
The group said on Thursday (September 16) that its remaining nine franchise stores will continue to trade.
M&S Chairman Archie Norman has been complaining for months that the retailer has struggled to get goods into EU members Ireland and France, blaming the amount of additional paperwork required.
The closing stores are mostly located across the high streets of Paris, as well as at airports and railway stations.
It follows a decision in April to reconfigure M&S's food business in the Czech Republic to remove supply chain risks.
The firm took out all fresh and chilled products from stores, and doubled ranges of frozen and ambient products.
Marks and Spencer upgraded its profit outlook last month thanks to a jump in demand for food in its home market.
As well as a surge in online clothes sales.
All signs that the firm's latest turnaround plan is starting to deliver.
